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Or at the very least, today’s workforce dynamics are evolving faster than most organizations can manage. We're more likely to find a new job using social media, our mobile devices are rarely more than an arm's reach away, and we want greater flexibility in our work environment. At the same time, the emergence of new technologies and workforce science is giving HR leaders access to tools and insight they never had before but a new IBM study revealed only 20 percent feel successful managing change.

The challenge for many is to better understand employees as unique individuals while also managing the transformational change required to unlock innovation and transform the workforce. Daniel Pink’s TED Talk, “The Puzzle of Motivation” and Simon Sinek’s TED Talk, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” help address this challenge by focusing on the autonomy, mastery and purpose in motivating people to action. As Sinek says, “Don’t just hire people who need a job — hire people who believe what you believe.”

As workforce engagement rises to the top of most boardroom agendas, Chief HR Officers and other business leaders must reimagine how they attract and retain top talent, instill the right organizational culture and adapt to new business opportunities.

Lean workforce? Look at new ways to reimagine the possibilities for people, from making work more flexible to providing access to tools to bridge gaps in skills.

Un-engaged employees? Cultivate and nurture an engaging environment built on trust, transparency and responsiveness to drive better business results with social collaboration tools.

Generational conflicts? Focus on the commonalities instead of the differences and encourage an inclusive work culture that supports every age group — and you’ll start to close the generation gap.

Short-term thinking stifling innovation? Put a priority on freeing people to focus on products that aren’t tied to quarterly earnings. With a vanguard of innovators in place, you can keep more nimble upstarts from disrupting your business and threatening your ability to compete.

Technology changing faster than people can keep up? Create a culture of constant learning that provides skills assessment and training. And turn new technology to your own advantage by using analytics and other tools to improve how you identify, hire and recruit top talent.

Removing the guesswork

New advances in technology and workforce science such as those delivered through IBM’s Smarter Workforce initiative make it possible for businesses to better understand and predict behavior, collaborate, share expertise and match workers with roles to a degree that may never have been achievable before. Instilling this level of precision replaces guesswork with science and has enabled organizations like Caterpillar, TD Bank and Greenwell Financialto establish comprehensive worker development lifecycles that address individual worker skills, desires, concerns and expectations and align them with business goals.

Join me and my fellow industry influencers, Mark Babbitt and Ted Coine, in a LIVE chat on Thursday, August 21 to continue discussing how the convergence of cloud, mobile and social technologies, together with big data are transforming HR. Visit www.CrowdChat.net/TEDatIBM.